Microsoft Hardware unveils pressure-sensitive keyboard

Microsoft Hardware has been working on a keyboard that has pressure-sensitive …

Microsoft Hardware plans to debut a new keyboard prototype at the User Interface Software and Technology (UIST) conference in October. The device will be put to use in the first annual Student Innovation Contest in Victoria, Canada, where contestants will be supplied with a keyboard prototype and challenged with developing new interactions for it. Contestants will demo their creations and attendees will vote for their favorite at the conference on October 5. $2,000 prizes will be given to the authors of programs deemed as the most useful, the best implementation, and the most innovative.

Here's a video that details the new keyboard:

As you can see, the keyboard has pressure-sensitive keys, meaning each key is capable of recording pressure force, up to an 8-bit resolution. It's just a prototype for now; Microsoft Hardware currently has no plans to turn this into a product, but something tells us that will quickly change. Microsoft touts the uses for this type of keyboard as "limitless," and has already tested applying more pressure to a letter key for capitalization or larger font size, pressing the backspace key lighter/harder to delete one letter/an entire word, and even in gaming applications for determining the rate of movement or height of jumping. Our curiosity has officially been piqued, has yours?